It's the same character. I guess he met her the first time; I don't recall the scene, and this time he was apparently going with her. But, both appearances were so "extremely" brief. While it seems to be a rather minor plot line, each time it was so short as to almost not be worth having it. I don't know anything else about the series; those are the only 2 episodes I've seen. It was nice seeing her, though.